Photo surfaces of Rainiel Rodriguez playing third base, and Cardinals fans are overjoyed

After months of speculation, St. Louis Cardinals top prospect, Rainiel Rodriguez, a photo has surfaced on X of the catcher taking reps at third base, opening the door for positional versatility at the spot in the Cardinals lineup where they still need a long-term answer.

Cue Michael Scott telling everyone to remain calm!

Redbird Farmhands, who, if you're not following on X already, you should be, shared the photo last night, and it appears to be the beginning of what could be a massive development for the future of the Cardinals.

Rainiel Rodriguez could be the Cardinals third baseman of the future

The teenage prospect continued to dazzle at the plate this year, slashing .324/.413/.574 with 27 home runs and 87 RBIs in just 115 games, all while navigating growing as a defensive catcher and handling the game planning that comes with catching the best arms in the Cardinals system. He's easily a top-10 prospect in the game and has a strong argument for the best prospect in the sport.

Cardinals assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio was recently asked whether Rodriguez could learn third base, and he seemed to leave the door open for that. President of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, did the same when asked a similar question at the Cardinals' end-of-season press conference. The Cardinals had not publicly stated that would happen, but it seems like the gears are in motion.

The Cardinals have remained steadfast in their belief that Rodriguez could be a valuable defensive catcher, but the combination of the Cardinals' catching depth, their lack of an answer at third base on their big league roster, and the desire to keep a bat like Rodriguez's in the lineup consistently always made adding third base to his repertoire a worthwhile endeavor.

This experiment should not be taken as the Cardinals abandoning catching with Rodriguez. Considering how valuable they think it is for Herrera to remain catching, even with his clear limitations behind the plate thus far, it would be odd for them to not want to keep that in Rodriguez's bag, especially since his upside defensively is higher than Herrera's. The Cardinals have the luxury of Bernal looking like a true everyday catcher, which would allow them to catch Herrera and/or Rodriguez still, but do so in moderation to keep their bats in the lineup.

Rodriguez won't turn 20 until January and has yet to take at-bats at Triple-A, so barring a crazy offseason and spring training that makes it impossible to keep Rodriguez off the roster, he's likely going to get time in Memphis to refine his defense, both behind the plate and at the corner infield spots, as well as adjust to that new level at the plate, before making an MLB debut. But it's hard to imagine a world where Rodriguez is not a big leaguer at some point in 2027.

The Cardinals also have Jesus Baez in the wings, who just crushed over 40 home runs, including minor league postseason play this year, who could be an option at third base for St. Louis long-term. But as exciting as Baez is, Rodriguez is just a different level of prospect, so finding as many ways to get Rodriguez's bat into the lineup long-term is essential.

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